Gospel;-but let us study the divinity, the sound divinity of our Puritan ancestors; or, speaking more correctly, the divinity which the apostles preached to sinners, and which, in their epistles, they more fully amplified for the edification of saints. Paul's charge to Timothy is replete with counsel and encouragement; and whether this be the first or the fiftieth year of our ministry, it is still a charge from the great Head of the church to us. O for wisdom to understand it, and for grace to practise it! "Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine : continue in them; for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee."

ON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JUSTIFICATION AND

SANCTIFICATION.

BY THE LATE T. WEMYSS, ESQ.

THE difference between these terms will best be discerned by a careful definition of each. This subject enters deeply into the Christian system, and it is therefore of importance to have correct views of it.

The meaning of the word "Justification," as a term in the English language, is "a vindication, an absolution, an acquittal, or clearance from guilt." For the truth of this any lexicon may be consulted.

In order to ascertain the use of the word in Scripture, recourse must be had to the Scripture itself; always remembering that in Scripture God means to be understood, and therefore he uses words in the same acceptation in which they are used amongst men.

The first passage I shall quote is Deut. xxv. 1, where it is said, "If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them, then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked." Here justify evidently signifies "to acquit," and is opposed to pronouncing sentence, or condemning. Job ix. 20, "If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me,” i. e. if I attempt to "vindicate or clear myself," my own mouth would "pronounce me guilty." Let these two passages suffice for the Old Testament use of the word. In the New Testament we find it employed in the very same sense, as in Matt. xii. 37, "By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." Here again justification is opposed to condemnation. Also in Rom. viii. 33, 34, "It is God that justifieth who is he that condemneth?

The Scripture use of the word Justification, then, is the very same as in common language; it is an acquittal from the charge of guilt, a clearing or vindicating a person; and is generally, if not always, opposed to condemnation, but never to moral defilement. Justification is an act of God terminating upon man. This appears from Rom. viii. 33, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's

elect? It is God that justifieth.” Rom. iii. 26, "That he (viz. God) might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Also verse 30, "It is one God who shall justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith :" and Rom. iv. 5, "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."

God justifies men by faith in the blood of Jesus, as is evident from Rom. iii. 28, "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law." Rom. v. 1, "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Also from Acts xiii. 38, 39, "Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses."

Justification by faith is opposed to justification by works, as is plain from the words of the apostle, Rom. iii. 20, where, after proving both Jews and Gentiles to be under sin, and the whole world to be guilty before God, he adds, "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight." But men are justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Where is boasting, then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay, but by the law of faith. The apostle says, "by the law is the knowledge of sin." Now this knowledge of sin being chiefly produced by the moral law, shows plainly that the apostle excludes that, as well as the ceremonial law, from justification. Besides, his reasoning is addressed to Gentiles, who had nothing to do with the ceremonial law, and therefore the moral law must be meant. The opposition in the argument all along is not between ceremonial and moral works, or between ritual laws and the laws of morality, but between the law of faith and the law of works in general.

Again, we are said to be justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Not of works, lest any man should boast. Not by works of righteousness which we had done, but according to his mercy he saved us. We are not justified on account of any obedience, or anything done by us after believing; for we must first believe and be justified before we can do works acceptable to God. We find examples of persons being baptized for the remission of sins the very same day they believed, and were considered as justified persons. Thus the three thousand at Peter's sermon, the Samaritans who heard Philip, the eunuch, Cornelius, and the Philippian jailor. Now what obedience could these men perform to render them justified by works? This may also be argued from the example of Abraham's justification; for that faith which was imputed to him for righteousness, or by which he was justified, was neither his going out of Ur of the Chaldees by faith, not knowing whither he went, nor yet his believing "that God was able to raise up Isaac from the dead ;" because

in both these instances obedience was joined with faith; but his believing in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, at a time when his body might be considered as dead, he being about an hundred years old, and Sarah's womb being also dead. This was a pure act of faith without works; and of this it is said, what is not said of either of the other, "It was imputed to him for righteousness."

Again, the Scripture expressly and frequently asserts, that believers are justified by faith; in which expression either faith includes works, or it does not. If it does not, we are justified by faith alone. Now, that it does not include works, appears from the plain distinction which the Scripture puts between them when it says, "Faith worketh by love;" "Faith works with our works, and by works is faith made perfect;" "Add to your faith virtue, knowledge, godliness," &c. It also speaks of the work of faith, and the obedience of faith.

The distinction between faith and works is also evident from the nature of faith, which is a believing the testimony of God. Now it is not reasonable to conceive that Christ and his apostles would use the word faith in any other signification than that in common use, and therefore they cannot be supposed to have included works in it. For, though true faith will certainly produce obedience, yet obedience is neither included in the nature of faith, nor contained in its import or meaning.

But some may here object, "Does not James say, that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only?" In reply to this I would observe, that James cannot mean that a man is justified by works preceding faith, because no man can do a good work till he believes. He must, therefore, be speaking of those works which follow faith, and are the effects of it; and his meaning is, that by the performance of good works a man proves to others that he is a believer and a justified person; just as our Lord says on another occasion, "By their fruits shall ye know them."

The nature of justification will be further evident from considering those phrases which Paul uses as equivalent to justification, or as interpretations of it.

For instance, he says, Rom. v. 9, “Being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life." Here to be justified by his blood and to be reconciled by his death, seem plainly to mean the same thing. Now, if justification and reconciliation are equivalent, then we know that remission, or non-imputation of sin, is a part of reconciliation, as appears from 2 Cor. v. 19, "that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." Even so it is among men who are in a state of enmity, the one having offended the other; when the offended person enters again

into friendship with the offender, he first forgives him all past offences. Justification also, as mentioned before, stands opposed to condemnation. So it is in 2 Cor. iii. 9, " For if the ministration of condemnation be glorious, much more doth the ministration of righteousness (or justification—it is the same word in the original) exceed in glory." Now what is it mankind stand charged with, or condemned for, but sin? Justification, therefore, which is opposed to it, must be a clearing and discharging men from the guilt and from the punishment due to them for sin.

No man can be admitted into friendship with God, or be enabled to serve him acceptably, till his sins are pardoned, for God can have nothing to do with sinners while they continue under the guilt of unpardoned sin. Now the sins of a believer are immediately pardoned upon his faith in Christ, and so he comes to have peace with God, and is then in a capacity to do him acceptable service.

Some aver that justification is a gradual thing, depending not only on our faith at first, but upon our continuing to believe afterwards, and that it is never complete in this life. But this opinion is contradicted by the words of the apostle, who speaks of justification as a matter already accomplished. He says, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God," and so on. Besides, it is contrary to the very nature of justification, for who ever heard of a gradual acquittal of a criminal? A criminal is either acquitted or pronounced guilty at once there is no medium; so also a sinner is either justified or condemned.

But it may be asked, Is the meritorious cause of our justification, our faith itself, or the object of faith? I answer, The object of faith. And what is this object? It is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. So the apostle tells us, Rom. v. 18, "Therefore, as by the offence of one (or by one offence, viz. Adam's transgression) judgment or sentence came upon all men to condemnation; even so, by the righteousness of one (or by one righteousness, viz. the righteousness of Christ) the free gift, i. e. the remission of sins and life eternal, came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience (viz. Adam's eating the forbidden fruit) many were made or constituted sinners, i. e. were involved in the guilt of his sin; so by the obedience of one (viz. the obedience of Christ to the will of his Father, and his becoming obedient to the death of the cross) many shall be made or constituted righteous; i. e. his obedience shall be reckoned to their account, as if they themselves had performed it, and so they shall be absolved from guilt and punishment, and become entitled to eternal life.

In this passage it is evident that Paul is not treating of moral depravity, or of moral rectitude. He is treating of their condemnation and justification; of their being freed from the one, and their obtaining the other, through the imputation of the righteousness of

Christ; and whatever difficulties there may be in the doctrine of imputation, according to the opinion of some, yet those who deny it do flatly contradict the reasoning of the apostle.

Let us now inquire a little into the nature of Sanctification.

The term literally signifies, either the separation of a person or thing from a common to a religious employment, or the making a person holy by changing his nature and principles.

Many examples of both are to be found in Scripture: thus, "God sanctified the seventh day," i. e. he separated it from the other days of the week to be a day of rest and devotion. "Sanctify unto me all the first-born," i. e. set them apart, or separate them for my service. In this sense we read of sanctified vessels, sanctified fields, sanctified fasts, sanctified beasts, sanctified garments, &c. Instances of the other signification are as follow: "The very God of peace sanctify you wholly ;" "this is the will of God, even your sanctification;" "God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth."

Sanctification is ascribed to the agency of the Holy Spirit, as in the following passages:-"Ye are washed, ye are sanctified, ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." " Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience," &c. All those affections which sanctified persons feel towards God or man are described as the fruits of the Spirit, viz. love, joy, peace, &c.

What then are the distinctions between justification and sanctification? They are these.

Justification is an acquittal from guilt. Sanctification is the purifying of the nature.

Justification is a delivering from the punishment of sin. Sanctification is a delivering from the dominion of sin.

Justification is that part of the new covenant which says, "I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." Sanctification is that part of it which says, "I will put my laws in their minds, and write them in their hearts."

The effect of justification is peace; the effect of sanctification is purity.

Justification is at once complete. Sanctification is progressive through

life.

Justification is an act of God at large. Sanctification is the peculiar work of the Spirit.

Justification introduces us into a new character.

troduces us into a new temper.

Sanctification in

Both justification and sanctification are through faith: "Justified

by faith."

"Sanctified through faith that is in me."